Concise Current Affairs Recap: 21 January 2016

Professor Sathyabhama Das Biju who is also known as the frogman of India and his team of researchers discovered a new genus of tree hole-breeding frogs in the forests of India’s northeast and China. The genus has been named Frankixalus after Professor Franky Bossuyt of Vrije Universiteit Brussel for his contribution to amphibian research.

2-Union Government granted Infrastructure Status to Shipyard Industry

Image via maritime-connector.com

The Union Government has granted Infrastructure Status to the Shipyard Industry in a bid to ease its financial stress. With the granting of the infrastructure status, the shipyards will be able to avail flexible long-term funding at lower costs.

3-Extinct tree frog rediscovered in India after 137 years

Image via bbc.com

An extraordinary tree frog which was thought to have died out more than a century ago has been rediscovered in India. The discovery was made by renowned Indian biologist Sathyabhama Das Biju and a team of scientists, in the jungles of north-eastern India.

4-Zika virus may infect up to 700,000 people in Colombia

Image via ticotimes.net

The mosquito-borne Zika virus has already infected more than 13,500 people in Colombia and could hit as many as 700,000, according to the government report. According to Pan-American Health Organization figures, the country is second only to Brazil in infection rates.

5-TRAI called Facebook’s Free Basics campaign ‘crude’ and ‘dangerous’

image via hindustantimes.com

TRAI said the social network had tried to turn the policy consultation paper into a ‘majoritarian’ opinion poll. It has criticised Facebook’s attempt to respond to consultative policy exercise and orchestrated opinion poll.

6-Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra are the new faces of ‘Incredible India’

Image via news18.com

Amitabh Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra have been chosen as the new brand ambassadors of ‘Incredible India’ campaign. The actors will be associated to the campaign for a term of three years.

7-According to 2015 is Earth’s warmest year since 1880

Image via chinoviceral.deviantart.com

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2015 was the warmest year since 1880.

8-India saw highest number of stillbirths in 2015

Image via dnaindia.com

According to a report published in The Lancet journal, India witnessed the highest number of stillbirths in the world in the year 2015. 5.9 lakh out of the total 26 lakh stillbirths in 2015 were reported from India.

9-India’s first LGBT-run radio cabs to run in Mumbai

Image via nyoooz.com

India’s first Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender radio cab service ‘Wings Rainbow’ was announced in Mumbai. The initiative is to offer employment opportunities to the LGBT community.

10-Russia’s currency collapses to lowest level ever in history

The Russian ruble has collapsed to its lowest ever level. It dropped 4% to 82 rubles per U.S. dollar. The latest slump was triggered by another steep drop in oil prices.